HYDERABAD: Herdsmen, migrating from drought-stricken Thar desert to barrage areas in Sindh province, are fighting a hard battle to keep their most valuable assets, the livestock, alive and grazing in the water-scarce areas.
These herdsmen usually come to these areas in search of livelihood and besides work they also find potential grazing fields for rearing their animals.
However, this year the situation is not the same for the Thari herdsmen because chronic water scarcity has forced the barrage area farmers to cut down on cultivation, which means fewer grazing fields.
A large number of herdsmen have reportedly left their dry lands for barrage areas after the provincial government declared Tharparkar district as calamity-stricken.
They believe that tail-end farmers are still struggling with drought-like conditions due to water shortage in watercourses.
Dr Pershotam Khatri, associate professor and chairman, Department of Animal Reproduction at Sindh Agriculture University (SAU) Tandojam, said it seems a common phenomenon for all rain-dependent areas, including Thar, Achhro Thar, Kachho and Kohistan in terms of depleting vegetation and natural grazing fields after experiencing failure in rainfall and overall water scarcity.
“A large number of livestock have come from different arid zones like Thar desert and Kohistan for rearing animals in canal areas,” Khatri said.
According to Khatri, Thari animals have a natural ability to resist drought conditions and can survive without proper water and fodder for many days in their habitats, but after crossbreeding, these animals being drought-sensitive face hardships in desert.
Following drought, a meeting was held in Hyderabad to discuss the situation and possibility of response by International non-governmental organisations (INGOs) to help Thar desert people and livestock.
Local activists believe that fodder for livestock is missing from the aid, which creates problems for the communities, who depend on animals for their livelihood during these kinds of difficult days.

Ahmedabad: An already parched Gujarat will now have to see water from Narmada river being routed to the lake surrounding the Statue of Unity (SOU) to prepare it for its unveiling by PM Modi on October 31, said reports on Friday.
A report by DNA pointed out how only recently, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani had declared the entire district of Kutch and six tehsils of other districts as scarcity-hit areas after inadequate rainfall.
It said even during the Gujarat polls last year, the river’s waters were used to fill the Sabarmati riverfront so that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s seaplane could land.
The state will release water from the Sardar Sarovar Dam on October 31 to fill the artificial lake surrounding the SOU.
Besides the statue, the project boasts of an exhibition gallery and research centre.
On Sardar Patel’s birth anniversary, PM Modi will inaugurate the 182-meter tall statue located on Sadhubet (a landmass) in the Narmada river basin.
Sources say before the inauguration, the government will release an additional 78 MCMs of water.
The reservoir, as on Thursday, said the report, had 6,323 MCM of water which is just about 67% of its capacity because of lack of rains.
The water can be sent back to the dam through pumps, or can be flowed downstream.” Deputy chief minister Nitin Patel, who is also the minister for the Narmada department, could not be reached for his comments.
Congress spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil said it was a shame that when the state’s farmers were suffering from a water crisis, so much stored water would be used for a “publicity stunt”.

Losing access to a steady supply of clean water can be a big blow to your business, regardless of whether the issue itself a small leak or a city-wide contamination.
Water shortages and scarcity Running out of water poses a greater problem than having a contaminated supply, but there are still multiple ways to handle the situation.
Thankfully, unless the scarcity is a widespread issue, there’s no legal requirements or repercussions to how you deal with the problem, giving you more flexibility when customers and employees are affected.
Storing extra water in backup tanks or bulk-purchased bottles (depending on what it will be used for) can keep your business open during the shortage.
Damaged pipes There are two major types of pipe damage that can occur: leaks and bursts.
Repairing a leaking pipe often requires a plumbing or construction team to turn off the flow, excavate the pipe and replace it with a new one.
Replacing pipe sections in high-pressure areas can be a quick way of eliminating any upcoming damage without needing to constantly monitor the water flow.
This type of leak can drastically lower the stored pressure in a system, so shutting down the incoming flow without being prepared could lead to further damage If you’re expecting pressure to be an issue in the future, it may be a good time to replace your whole system.
Legionella Businesses are legally required to keep their drinking water clean, but Legionella can spread unexpectedly from any natural water if the conditions boost its growth.
Cleaning stagnant water sources such as storage tanks and dead-end pipes is one of the most efficient, but you can prevent Legionella growing entirely if you avoid storing water at any temperature between 20°C to 50°C.

ISLAMABAD: A meeting of the Senate standing committee on water resources chaired by Senator Shamim Afridi on Monday pondered over issues of water scarcity particularly in Sindh and Balochistan.
He stated that the Indus Water Apportionment Accord of 1991 was signed when he was Sindh chief minister in 1991.
He asserted that the accord emphasised on the need to check sea intrusion and ensure minimum escapage below Kotri.
He showed displeasure and questioned Indus River System Authority (IRSA) about the reasond why the study had not been conducted in the last 28 years.
He stated that Sindh has suffered miserably as a result of this delay and almost 31 billion acres of land has been destroyed in Thatta and Badin due to sea intrusion.
He asserted that the committee be informed of how many cusecs of water was available in the system during the months of March, April and May and the amount of water that had been delegated to Sindh.
He suggested that Chairman WAPDA must conceive two dams for Balochistan so that the acute water shortage issue is addressed in the province.
Retired Senator Jan Jamali, who was specially invited, was of the view that in the near future only a water secure country would be a food secure country.
Wapda, IRSA directed to submit replies Chairman Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Muzammil Hussain said that the questions raised by the committee did not pertain to either of the agencies present, and were political and policy issues that IRSA and WAPDA being executing agencies do not have the power to address.
The committee chairman directed Chairman WAPDA to send his recommendations at the earliest, and also directed IRSA officers to answer the queries raised by Senator Muzaffar Hussain Shah within ten days.

The initiative, founded by the Rockefeller Foundation, is a partnership with 100 cities which have a common aim.
She referred to traffic gridlock, apartheid spatial planning and water scarcity as some of the shocks and stresses faced by the city.
De Lille said the city had a transformation agenda, as laid out in the Integrated Development Plan.
“We are constantly striving to be a better city that can rightfully take its place as one of the greatest cities in the world.
“However, things do not always work according to plan.
Cape Town is prone to a number of acute shocks and chronic stresses that can affect our ability to survive, adapt and thrive in times of crisis,” De Lille said.
“As recently as the beginning of this year, going back 2014 and 2015, there were sustained periods of load-shedding.
Through good planning and awareness, along with the capacity of the city, we were able to minimise the worst impacts of load-shedding in our city.” De Lille said load-shedding put the local government economy at risk.
Like all cities, Cape Town is forced to buy electricity from the national power utility, Eskom, which is mostly generated from fossil fuels and coal, she said.
A resilience strategy, no matter how well written and informed, is only as good as its implementation,” she said.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani Friday said that drought relief works would begin from October 1 in 14 talukas of Kutch, Patan, and Banaskantha districts.
These talukas have been declared "scarcity hit" after getting deficient rain, less than 125 mm, during the current monsoon.
"In these talukas, drinking water will be provided through tankers while subsidized cattle fodder will be made available to farmers and cattle breeders," Rupani said.
He was talking to reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration of a multilayer packaging board plant in Bharuch, about 110 kilometers from here.
Gujarat is staring at water scarcity as it has received just 73.87 percent of rainfall this monsoon, a Gujarat government release had stated Thursday It had informed that Kutch had received just 26.51 percent of average rainfall so far, while north Gujarat got 42.93 percent, central Gujarat 66.83 percent, Saurashtra 72.20 percent and south Gujarat got the highest of 94.79 percent.

Naren Pratap, a cash crop farmer at Boubale in Labasa said he barely makes $80 a month because of the dry spell.
Mr Pratap had been planting and selling different types of vegetable and root crops the last 16 years on his ten acre land and usually makes $1000 from his produce when the weather is favourable.
He sells vegetables to Labasa and Boubale market vendors.
“The farm is dried up since there is no rain; so you can imagine the struggles we are facing,” the 58-year-old farmer said.
He also used to plant sweet potatoes that would be harvested after three months.
“We and the market vendors are facing the hardships because the price of vegetables will hike up.” Labasa market vendor Lusiana Namatai said prices of vegetables in the market have soared follow with the scarcity of supplies.
At the beginning of last month vegetables were being sold at almost twice or more than previous months by the suppliers and farmers at the Labasa market.
The 1200 Labasa market vendors have no choice but to double prices of what they sell.
This time of the year is always a bad time for vendors,” she said.
“Natural disasters are beyond our control; it is something we cannot change, however while watering plants farmers need to use water sparingly,” Mr Seruiratu said.

Agra: A major part of the city, including Nunihai, Kala Mahal, parts of Jeevani Mandi, Gokulpura, Ahirpara, Roshan Mohalla and Sadar Bhatti, witnessed water scarcity on Friday as one of three water treatment plants at Jeevani Mandi water works station stopped working.
The facility, with a capacity of 90 million liters per day (MLD), will remain closed for the next month and a half for maintenance and restoration works.
As the other two plants at Jeevani Mandi station are working, water supply will not entirely stop in the affected areas, but it will get limited.
Chief engineer of Jal Nigam, RK Garg, said, “Under the Gangajal project, maintenance and renovation work at the 90 MLD capacity old water treatment plant has been initiated.
Officials have been directed to get the work done as soon as possible.” The Jeevani Mandi water works station, which caters to a major part of the city, had a total capacity of 225 MLD till now.
It has two water treatment plants of 90 MLD each and one of 45 MLD.
The capacity of Jeevani Mandi has now reduced to 135 MLD.
It has a capacity of 144 MLD and works at almost full capacity.
A senior engineer of Jal Sansthan said, “The renovation and maintenance of the plant will take over one month.
Maintaining water supply across the city will be a challenge.

Mumbai: A threat of drought looms large over 17 districts in the Marathwada and Vidarbha regions of Maharashtra due to deficient rainfall and excess use of water for sugarcane cultivation, officials said.
Most parts of Marathwada received average rainfall this monsoon and the water stock in the region stands at just 28.81 per cent, according to figures of the water resources department.
The Jayakwadi dam, considered lifeline of Marathwada, has around 45.88 per cent water stock as of Tuesday, compared to 87.63 per cent the same day last year.
“At least 17 districts are under a threat of drought- like situation,” an official from the water resources department said.
But, it is too early to predict if the regions will face severe scarcity, he said.
The meeting of the sub-committee on relief and rehabilitation, headed by revenue minister Chandrakant Patil, is yet to be held and a final decision to declare the areas as drought-prone is likely to be taken after October 15, another official said.
“Sugarcane cultivation requires a large amount of water.
There was sufficient water stock in the Manjara dam in Beed district last year, but it has almost dried today due to excess use of its water to cultivate sugarcane,” Minister of State for Water Resources Vijay Shivtare said.

Vasai: Vasai-Virar city is the preferred destination for affordable housing, with a growing population of more than 1.3 million spread over 383 sq km, which is also the fifth largest city in Maharashtra.
The river banks here have attracted many developers to the region who have promoted many projects.
As a matter of fact, this sub-region has witnessed a steady growth of the real estate business over the last six decades.
The Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation has been entrusted with the development work of infrastructure.
Some time back, the union government had adopted Vasai-Virar under the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Satellite Towns making it the only city from Maharashtra to be taken under this scheme.
However, this project is yet to see the light of the day.
However, this city is yet to tackle its water problems.
It seems residents here have been cursed to face water problems.
They have to not only tackle water shortage problems, but also the tanker lobby.
Some housing societies have resorted to using high pressure pumps to extract maximum water from below the surface.